Over the years I’ve heard some grumbling in these forums
about these Oscar winners in the supporting actress slot. If you could only
pick one, who should be forced to return her Oscar to the front desk of the
motion picture academy headquarters in Beverly Hills?

Judi Dench didn’t win for her role in Shakespeare in Love and she knows it quite well. I’m sorry Mrs Dench, I love you, but you shouldn’t have won in 1998. It was just another scandal from the 1998 Oscars. Shakespeare in Love winning Best Picture over Elizabeth, Life Is Beautiful, Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line; Gwineth Paltrow winning Best Actress over Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth (that is a total and absolute crime) and of course the Judi Dench catastrophe… what else can I say?

Kim Basinger. I was very happy for the actress though who seemed genuinely surprised that she was even being taken this seriously. A good actress but shouldn’t have sewn up enough votes for the win against her competition. Am not overjoyed by a number of these though. Melissa Leo won for what is arguably her worst performance to date.

Again, though, that’s not what a voter is thinking about when they pick their choice. No one was looking at that category and thinking, “hmmm, well, I can’t vote for Hudson since Kerr never won a competitive Oscar.” It’s about the category at hand. Do other factors come in to play (career, race, the film they’d win for, etc.)? Absolutely. However, you shouldn’t penalize someone because greats haven’t won in the past.

Connelly, Leo, Paquin and Hawn were good choices, the other 5 women… let’s see:

Kim Basinger had a terrible carreer prior to L.A. Confidential and, for
me, did nothing special in that great movie, she and Driver were the
weakest in that category, I think Moore should had won, or they could
have given that prize to Miss Gloria Stuart, she did a really great job
in Titanic and should’ve been beautiful if she’d won in that year, the
winner should had been Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights.

Judi Dench simply won because of her name, movie and the loss a year
before, she was good in Shakespeare in Love, but Rachel Griffiths and
Lynn Redgrave were miles better, the last scene of Redgrave should’ve
sealed the deal, superb!! and Dench won in a year where Lisa Kudrow
(amazing in Opposite of Sex) wasn’t even nominated. Winner should had
been Lynn Redgrave for Gods and Monters.

Mira Sorvino isn’t a good actress, imo. Her performance was awesome, but
clearly the majority of the greatness belongs to Allen’s character and
direction, Sorvino couldn’t handle a candle against Winslet and Joan
Allen, two of the greatest supporting performance of the 90’s. Winner
should had been Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility.

Marisa Tomei is an actress that I simply ADORE, but her winning isn’t
credible, she was really good in Cousin Vinny, but in what world Judy
Davis and Miranda Richardson (the Chastain of 92′) could be considerable
less than incredibly perfect in their roles? No way Tomei should have
won for that movie against that great competition, in the year of The
Wrestler I could had supported her win. Winner should had been Judy
Davis in Husbands and Wives.

Renée Zellweger… hahaha Here I come, I like Renée from Jerry Maguire
to Chicago, beyond this she isn’t just not good anymore. Her performance
in Cold Mountain is one of the few that I consider BAD and that won an
Oscar at the same time (the same group I put George Chakiris in West
Side Story and Roberto Begnini in Life is Beautiful). Even if I think
Hunter wasn’t a great nominee and the Gay Harden should have been
replaced with Linney from the same movie, Aghdashloo and Clarkson were
incredible, Zellweger in Cold Mountain is over and incredibly fake as a
farmer, too much exagerated and too many faces for a great character.
Winner should had been Shohreh Agdashloo in House of Sand and Fog.

Another victories that I don’t agree are Lange in Tootsie over Close in
Garp, Davis in Accidental Tourist over Weaver in Working Girl and
Binoche in English Patient over Bacall and Joan Allen.